Playing catch up: Rugby’s McClintock sits in first with 66, Jahner back in third with 71

FARGO — Course conditions were ideal for low scores at the North Dakota Class B boys golf meet Tuesday, and a pair of seniors from Rugby and Rolette took full advantage.

Rugby’s Jack McClintock shot a 5-under 66 to take the Day 1 lead at Fargo’s Rose Creek golf course. Defending state medalist Nick Myhre finished with a 3-under 68 for Northern Lights — a co-op of Rolla, Rolette and St. John.

“I was a little up and down on the front nine,” McClintock said. “My putter started to get hot on the back nine and I played pretty steady after that. I was hitting a lot of greens and fairways.”

McClintock and Myhre each shot a par-36 on the first nine holes.

“I felt like I could have made a few more putts,” said Myhre, who is signed to play golf for North Dakota State. “I was a little shaky on the front nine holes, but I got my shots together and I started to drop a few putts, which really helped my score.”

Myhre will have to get past McClintock in order to become the first back-to-back medalist since Griggs County Central’s Jayme Gronneberg won titles in 1996 and 1997.

“I’m excited to play the final round (today) and see how low I can go,” Myhre said.

Still in the mix is sophomore Willy Jahner from Dickinson Trinity, who sits in a tie for third after shooting a 72 on the day.

“I was hitting some good shots on my wedges and I felt really comfortable with those,” Jahner said. “I hit a few putts, but I left a few shots on the course.”

After finishing tied for sixth as a freshman at last year’s state tournament, Jahner will look for a solid performance today in order to stay in contention for his first state title.

He acknowledged, however, it wouldn’t be an easy task. Jahner still has to play catch up to the two seniors.

“They are all great golfers,” Jahner said of the top group. “I’m going to have to put up a low score to catch them.”

McClintock carded a 5-under 30 on the final nine holes to claim the lead. His back nine started with back-to-back birdies on holes 10 and 11. McClintock followed up with an eagle on Hole 12 and later scored a birdie on Hole 16.

“I just have to come out to the course (today) with a clean slate,” McClintock said. “I need to forget about the two-shot lead and just try to play well.”

In the team race, Northern Lights holds a two-shot lead over Rugby after Day 1. Fargo Oak Grove is four shots behind in fourth place.

“I think we are where we want to be,” said Oak Grove senior Nick Card, who finished with a 3-over 74. “We’ll have to see what happens in the final round.”

Hunter Braaten of Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn and Willy Jahner of Dickinson Trinity each shot an even-par 71 and are tied for third.

Jake Preston and Austin Reed of Hillsboro-Central Valley are in fifth and sixth place respectively. Kindred’s Riley Holland is tied with Card for seventh place at 74.

Tom Mix is the North Dakota high school sports reporter. He's worked at The Forum for five years. He was the 2013 North Dakota sportswriter of the year, an award that is sponsored by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Have a comment to share about a story? Letters to the editor should include author’s name, address and phone number. Generally, letters should be no longer than 250 words. All letters are subject to editing. Send to letters@forumcomm.com